Page 144 of 11 Cowboys

Her eyes shimmer, lips trembling, but she doesn’t look away.

“We want you, Grace. All of you. The fire, the softness, the words you write and the fun you bring. And if you're ready…” My voice catches, but I push on. “We’re ready to call this forever. Hell, we’re ready to add to that nursery if that’s what your heart wants.”

She lets out a shaky laugh that turns into a sob, pressing both hands to her face as tears spill free. Not silent ones. Not sad ones. The kind that speak of deep emotion and finally letting go.

When she lowers her hands, her gaze moves across the room, slow and full of awe, like she’s counting the weight of each man, and each promise. Like she’s seeing what we already know to be true.

“You all want this?” she asks, voice thick, and ragged in the most beautiful way.

Cody nods, shifting forward with a slow smile. “Yeah, darlin’. We’ve wanted this since the day you drove up our road.”

Lennon tips his head, grin boyish. “Since before you even stepped out of that shiny city car.”

Dylan murmurs, “We’ve been waitin’ on you a long time.”

And me? I don’t say another word. I kneel, flip open the velvet box passed down from my grandma, and hold it out, steady and sure.

Her gasp cuts through the quiet.

“We’re asking for forever, Gracie,” I tell her. “We’re askin’ for you.”

“We want to make it official,” Harrison says gently from her other side.

Grace stares down at the ring. Then at me. “Can I…?”

I place it in her hand, and she slips the gold band on with trembling fingers. It fits like it was always meant to be there.

A sob catches in her throat, and then she throws her arms around my neck, pulling me in tight. “Yes,” she whispers. “Yes, to forever. Yes, to babies. Yes, to always explaining that I’m a greedy woman with eleven cowboys to call my own. Yes, to all of it.”

The cheer that erupts from the bed shakes the walls. Jaxon nearly topples off the end, Levi pulls the covers over his head, hiding the emotion on his face, and Dylan reaches out and grips Grace’s hand like he’ll never let it go.

I press my lips to her temple and whisper, “You’re ours, Grace. You always were.”

And at that moment, with her hand in mine and our family all around us, I knew we were stepping into the future we had planned. That crazy advert that brought us so much unwelcome attention achieved its aim. We found our very own cowgirl, and she’s so much more than we ever could have hoped for.

Forever starts here.

EPILOGUE

GRACE

The late afternoon sun is warm against my bare shoulders and brighter than it has any right to be this far into fall. I tug the hem of my shirt down over my belly. There's a loose stone on the porch step I kick away in case one of the kids trips and falls.

My pink cowboy boots are scuffed now. The leather has softened with worn-in creases, and little nicks and scratches tell the story of a dozen mornings and more than a few midnight wanderings. They still feel a little flashy and ridiculous but entirely mine, and a gift I'll carry in my memory for the rest of my days.

A scream of laughter erupts from the yard.

“Don't you dare pour that on her head, Matty!” I call without turning. I don't need to look. The kids are in full hyper mode, racing in and out of the hose spray, soaked to the bone. Matty's shirt is already plastered to his back. Junie's tutu is drooping, but she's still wearing it with defiance I deeply respect. Eli watches from the porch swing, a shy smile tugging at her lips, sketching in the book Ibought her on my last trip into town. Dylan flicked through it last night and smiled. Beau rests his head on her lap, staring up at her like the two of them are having some kind of telepathic conversation.

Inside, someone's banging around. The screen door creaks and then slams.

“You make supervising look like an art form?” Cody grins at me, holding out a glass of lemonade before kissing my cheek. “You're glowing, darlin'.”

“Too much sun,” I lie.

He winks. “Too much love, maybe.”

I roll my eyes because there can never be too much love, and it sure is overflowing in this house. Maybe glowing is this: radiating so much peace and love from the inside that it shines through flesh to illuminate my complexion.